NEW DELHI, Dec 10: At least four people are killed and several others injured and tin roofs of many shops along the coastline blown away across Tamil Nadu after Cyclone Mandous made landfall near famous tourist centre of Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram) late on Friday night crossing the coast with a wind speed of 75 km an hour.
The cyclone later weakened into a deep depression. Chennai received up to 115 mm of rain. Around 400 trees fell in Chennai under the impact of cyclonic storm, Chief Minister M K Stalin said.
Mr Stalin, who reviewed the situation at Kasimedu area, told reporters that preventive measures taken by the government helped avoiding major damage. “With advanced planning, this government proved any disaster can be managed,” he said.
The cyclone began landfall around 11.30 pm on Friday and crossed the coast near Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu around 1.30 am, uprooting hundreds of trees in Chengalpattu and neighbouring Chennai.
In Kovalam, adjoining Mamallapuram, boats have been damaged besides shops along the seashore. “The tin roofs of shops have got blown away. Fisheries and revenue officials are examining damages to boats” said Shobana Thangam, President of Kovalam Village Panchayat.
Ahead of the landfall, 13 domestic and three international flights were cancelled at the Chennai airport due to bad weather. “Passengers are requested to check with concerned airline(s) for further updates,” tweeted Chennai International Airport.
On the intensity scale, it was earlier classified as ‘Severe Cyclonic Storm’, the fourth highest, meaning winds of 89-117 km per hour. It has since come down to ‘Cyclonic Storm’ with winds at 62-88 km/hour. (The most extreme type is ‘Super Cyclonic Storm’, with winds at 222+ km an hour.)
Besides stationing National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams in ten districts, the Tamil Nadu government has opened more than 5,000 relief centres. In Chengalpattu district alone 1,058 families were moved to 28 such centres.
Heavy rain was reported in several parts of south coastal and Rayalaseema districts of Andhra Pradesh early on Saturday. According to a status report of the AP government, Naidupeta in Tirupati district received the highest rainfall at 281.5 mm during the past 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Saturday.
The cyclone was named by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a member of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). In Arabic, it means “treasure box” and is pronounced as “Man-Dous.”
(Manas Dasgupta)
